UPS AND DOWNS

Recovering from surgery, as I am sure many already know, is a series of Ups & Downs. I have been going through this since coming home from the hospital. One minute, you feel stronger and in less pain or tired, and the next thing you know, your pain is back, and you're passed out asleep. This has been how it has been going for me. I think as we begin to see improvement, we start trying things; going up and down stairs, sitting at the table for a meal and so forth. But as we do those things, we can also find that afterwards we are in need of a nap or our pain has kicked up a notch or two.

So, I think this true for all IC patients regardless of whether we've had surgery or not. Often we'll find we're having a "good" day and run off doing all sorts of errands, house cleaning, shopping etc. Then the next day or even later that same day, we find ourselves not feeling so great anymore. What all of this has taught me is to really LISTEN to my body and the signals it is giving me. As I recover from surgery, and even just living with IC, I have to take those signals and respond. If I notice I am beginning to feel tired, or my pain is beginning to make itself known to me again, then it's time to stop whatever it is I'm doing and go rest. I think if we get really good at listening and watching for these clues our bodies send us, we can still manage to enjoy good days while not overdoing it and sending ourselves into a huge flare that is not worth the price of what we did to set it off.

So, the next time you are having a good day and feeling ambitious, take a moment to make a mental note to decide you are not going to go crazy and end up "hurting" yourself. Have some fun, do a few things, but don't go overboard.

I'm going to take my own advice right now and take a little nap. I've been online all morning, went downstairs to visit with my brother who stopped by and I am feeling tired. Time to shut things down for awhile and take a little nap.

Give yourself permission to do the same when you need, and you can find a way to still do things you want to do but maybe just in a new way!